Clemens Trial is a waste of time; Will you marry me?

Why is it a waste of the government’s time and money to pursue perjury charges against Roger Clemens?

How in the world can you conclusively prove he lied? And how many millions of dollars will be spent trying to do so?

Perhaps the government has a couple of credible witnesses who are willing to say Clemens isn’t telling the truth. No?

Then why not try two known, admitted liars, in Brian McNamee and Andy Pettitte? Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Do I think Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs? It doesn’t matter.

Can I prove it either way is the question. Heck no is the answer. And I don’t think the government can either.

But prosecutors will spend 4-6 weeks in federal court trying to do so.

I did the national radio show The Michael Smerconish Program this afternoon, and Smerconish used the phrase “choirboy” to describe Pettitte.

Seriously?

As I told him, if Pettitte is a choirboy, perhaps we should reevaluate the church choir system.

I have heard nothing but great things about Andy Pettitte from media who covered him during his career. He sounds like one heck of a guy.

But he is a liar. Period. Ask him, he will tell you. Read his deposition to Congress, and he admitted it.

He also said other things in it that are unbelievable.

Pettitte lied about using performance-enhancing drugs for years, and then after being busted as a user, said taking HGH was the honorable thing to do.

When he eventually “came clean” after McNamee rolled on him, he only admitted that he used PEDs one time, but decided not to continue because he didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. He felt like a cheater.

He held a heartfelt news conference where he bared his soul. His lying soul.

Just before he was supposed to testify before Congress, he re-remembered another time he used HGH.

But if it was such a horrible thing and you felt so bad about it last time, how could you use again? And how could you have forgotten about that second time when you came clean before?

Especially since that second time you got your father to go buy the stuff (illegally) for you?

Have any of you forgotten about the time you had your dad make an illegal drug run for you? Could you misremember that?

But, as I have written before, take a minute to read Pettitte’s testimony and it might make you chuckle. He gave clear and concise testimony on the situation, explaining his previous lie. Or not.

This is from the transcript:

“I mean — that statement — you know, it kind of — I know it kind of, maybe, doesn’t even make sense, but when I released that statement, I just — I felt — I was having a hard time even thinking that I ever even had done anything else,” Pettitte so eloquently stated. “But over the last two months, you know, I just know that when I released that that’s not a true statement. You know, I could recall doing it again.”

Well, Andy, I mean, you know, it kind of sounds like, you know, maybe you might still be lying, you know?

This is the government’s choirboy?

I repeat, the Roger Clemens Trial:

Waste … of … time

• • •

Young love always brightens my day.

I met a young man named Andy Blount, the head football coach at Good Shepherd Episcopal School in Dallas, at my favorite neighborhood watering hole a couple weeks ago. He was in town to ask the father of his beloved Krystin Dusing for permission to ask the ultimate question.

Awww.

When he told me he was then going to ask the lovely lady to marry him at a Rangers game, I half frowned. But turns out the two met at a Rangers game, so how appropriate to take their relationship to the next level at a Texas game?

At least he wasn’t planning the cheesy jumbotron proposal so many of you loathe.

I checked with Sports Radio 610’s Barry Warner because I knew he was good friends with Nolan Ryan, to see if Ryan might be able to touch base with the couple when they were in the stadium.

As you might imagine, Ryan was more than happy to honor Warner’s request.

Ryan autographed a baseball and the Rangers’ media relations staff had it delivered to Andy and Krystin, and the team announced the engagement and congratulated the couple during the game. Thank goodness she said yes.

32 Responses

Bond’s trial cost US taxpayer 55 million dollars. Clement’s trial will probably cost us about the same. I don’t get it. It’s not like they CHEATED back then when it was not even ILLEGAL. They shouldn’t have been in the Congress in the first place. There are much bigger problems to worry about. Talk about morons in Washington, D.C…

Thank you for writing such a fabulous summary of why it’s a waste of money to put Roger Clemens on trial! It’s the most stupid waste of time and money I have seen in years, and I admire Roger for standing up to a weak-spined, lazy Congress in the first place. He could have sat still and said nothing, but instead decided to stand up for himself. Go, Roger!

Because everyone lies, lying should not be a crime. Lying to Federal Officials is acceptable behavior. You can be an honorable, ethical person even if you lie because its a part of life like breathing. Our Justice System does not depend on a person telling the truth. The system does depend on a person having money. So Roger will most likely be acquitted. If anyone thinks this process cost too much money, then maybe Roger should reimburse the government since he brought this on himself. And he has the money, right Rusty?

Great article Mr. Solomon and I agree with you a 110%. Its too many other things these people in power need to be focused on and whether or not a retired athlete lied is not one of them. Keep speaking truth to power.

Roger Clemens will undoubtedly beat the perjury rap but he’s not gonna beat the public’s memory of it ….. which should cost him some big bucks in lost potential earnings which will almost be as good as prison time for that egomaniac.
Clemens can take a seat at future card/autograph shows next to Pete Rose, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa at the discount table of shame.

If you commit a crime and are caught you should be prosecuted. You don’t know what evidence the government may have against him. Let it play out. That other people lied is irrelevant. To say that Congress lies is irrelevant. That’s like saying it’s o.k. to commit insurance fraud because insurance companies cheat people or it’s o.k. to shoplift because a store may cheat on taxes. It’s a crime to lie to Congress and if it can be proved that you did then you should be punished. You can’t look the other way.

WASTE OF TIME? Nine years of the Houston Texans. Thats a monumental waste of time. What can the Federal gov’t do about bringing home the Houston Oilers name and jerseys. If pro football in Houston is gonna suck, might as well be the SPOILERS.

Also, I want the entire defense, especially Cushworth, to do buckets-o-roids, and can Wade Phillips punch at Kubes at some point on the sidelines for poor clock management going into halftime (Buddy Ryan v Kevin Gilbride).

Do not see the need in making Roger into a criminal. He stole nothing form anyone but himself. Cheated his own legacy. Thats his to deal with. Certainly no criminal for taking steroids and lieing is not a crime. Only a sin. If its a crime to oour government? Then alot of them need to be put in jail right now for lieing to us all of these years.

Trials are expensive,and Congress is not a favorite of anyone,but, you are still confusing the ‘world of sports’ with being real and separate from the Real World. Congress has to prosecute and does prosecute for perjury. Congress cannot function[ok, at at low level] if people can get go to hearings and lie with impunity. Now should any trial cost millions-no, but lawyers rule the real world and so they get ‘athlete money’. If you want to lower lawyer fees, that is a good topic.

I’m tossed on the issue of the trial. I’m not one of those people who made a big deal out of the roids issue. People can act all self-righteous if they want but if it were them or their son who could make multiple millions by injecting something that professionals are telling them won’t harm them and will make them perform better I’m sure a large percent of them would do it. And of the percent that wouldn’t a nice chunk of them wouldn’t refuse for moral reasons, it’d be because of feared health risk. From the outside looking in I don’t think I’d do it but I haven’t been in that situation either and I won’t sit here and lie and pretend I’m immune to temptation.

Anyway, I also think there needs to be a penalty for perjury, especially when it comes to something as large scale as this was at the time. If Roger was lying (which I personally think he was), then he commit a crime. Congress can’t legitimately ignore Roger after they went so hard after Bonds for so long. I also think part of this is congress being peeved because of how they fell all over themselves kissing Roger’s rear, doing everything but running up like groupies to ask for autographs; only for many of them to look foolish shortly after.

Still with all that is going on I’m sure they could find much better use for the money that has been poured into the whole roid issue, from the Mitchell report, to Bonds, to this. It should’ve never gotten this far. I don’t think my tax dollars were originally meant to be thrown down the toilet policing professional sports leagues and their drug policies.

I totally agree. It will be a huge waste of hardworking people’s tax dollars. As it is, Congress is wasting billions and billions of ordinary people’s hard earned moderate income.
Many members of Congress deserved to be tried in Court of Law for their abuses, lying, cheating, and on and on.

Are you arguing that the trial is a waste of time because the government doesn’t have enough evidence to convict? Or are you saying that lying to Congress should not be a crime?

As for the former, I have heard that federal prosecutors don’t go for the indictment until they feel they have a slam-dunk case. Their conviction rate is something like 95%. So we may find out they have more evidence than what’s apparent.

If the argument is that lying to Congress should not be a crime, then the law needs to be changed. As long as it’s a crime, it should be prosecuted.

Finally someone recognized that Andy Pettite lied not once but twice and probably more than he is leading on also. All I read in articles is how he came clean and told the truth and he is a standup guy and rolemodel. My first response was are you serious if you are such a standup guy than why did you cheat in the first place? I gurantee you that if the ball hadnt of got rolling on the steroids issue none of these guys would of came clean. You want a standup guy why not Biggio, Nolan Ryan, or my favorite of all time Ken Griffey Jr. None of these guys took steroids or were even linked to them. Why arent we praising them? Here is a good question though since Andy Pettite lied about using steroids twice, do you think there is a chance his is lying about Clemens ?

King, if you say Roy’s a great guy, he just got a bump in my opinion of him. BUT, that was one of the most empty headed things I have heard of. Doesn’t he even know one woman who could give him advice?

I know you have loads of money, and I’ve heard of professional players who have paid women in the six figures per annum to be “on call”, but, if you’re going to beg for the ring’s return, you shouldn’t have offered in the first place.

Why did you?

Were you hoping the ring’s size and value would help you bag a woman who was out of your league or who didn’t like you very much to begin with?

I’m with you on Pettitte he’s just another liar. I have more respect for Jose Canseco than Pettitte, or many other lying baseball players. He may be a rat and he had an agenda but at least he’s an honest rat.

Roy would have been better off just letting that girl keep the ring rather than filing suit and making it public. Chalk it up as a private learning experience and move on…..

Uhm, you are aware that lying by itself is not a crime, right? If Pettitte lies to the media or the fans, that isn’t a crime. A broken campaign promise is not a crime. Perjury is swearing an oath to tell the truth in a proceeding and then lying during that proceeding. So, if it is truly believed that Clemens lied under oath to Congress, then he committed a crime. Unless you can show Pettitte or a Congressman lying in sworn testimony, there is no comparison to Clemens.

And if you don’t think perjury should be a criminal offense, then let’s just do away with taking an oath for any trial. Of course, our judicial system has issues (although I’d still put it up against any other country’s), but letting people get away with lying on the stand would make it a complete farce. Knowing you could be criminally prosecuted for it is the only possible deterrent. And Clemens can’t blame anyone but himself. He’s the one who insisted on testifying to Congress.

It is important that when someone lies to Congress that they be prosecuted; the fact that it is a famous ballplayer is incidental (and is what brings all the attention to things). Let the case run its course; if nothing else, it is a deterrent to others in that situation who might be considering blatantly lying to Congress. People testifying there fudge their stories ALL THE TIME, yet outright lying should not go unchallenged; that is what this case is about…not steroids. The use of steroids and the whole story around that is simply the vehicle that will hopefully tell whether the truth was told or not.